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For mouthwatering, fall-off-the-bones ribs, you’ll want to pay attention. Michael Harlan Turke shares this Balsamic Barbecued Rib recipe from famed Los Angeles restaurateurs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo of Animal and other restaurants in LA.
Summer side dishes that we would recommend to go with the ribs include Three Cheese Macaroni and Cheese, Sonoma’s Zazu Baked Beans, and Meyer Lemon Potato Salad. Get even more summer salads here.
Find more balsamic and vinegar-based recipes in Turke’s new book Acid Trip.
Balsamic Barbecued Ribs
Ingredients
For the barbecue sauce:
- 1 cup 240 ml Ketchup
- 1 12-ounce / 360 ml bottle of Beer, lager style, about 1½ cups
- ½ cup / 120 ml balsamic vinegar
- 1 medium red onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- ½ cup / 110 g brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1½ tablespoons grainy mustard
- 1 to 2 teaspoons tabasco sauce, depending on how hot and tangy you like your ribs
- 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
- ¼ cup / 60 ml water
For the ribs:
- 2 racks St. Louis Pork Ribs, about 2½ pounds (1.2 kg) each, membrane removed
- Canola or Grapeseed Oil
- Salt
- 4 sprigs Flat-leaf Parsley
- 4 sprigs Thyme
- 4 cloves Garlic, smashed
Instructions
To make the barbecue sauce:
- Whisk all of the ingredients together in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low, keeping the sauce at a low simmer, and cook uncovered until it’s thick, at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally (you can cook it for up to 3 hours, partially covered, for an intensely deep flavor).
- This can be made days ahead and brought up to room temperature before being applied to the ribs as follows.
For the ribs:
- Preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C).
- Place each half rack of ribs on a 2-foot-long sheet of foil, shiny side up. Rub each half rack with enough oil to coat, then sprinkle with salt and divide the herbs and garlic among the packets. Wrap the foil around the ribs tightly and place them in a roasting pan. Roast the ribs for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 250°F (120°C) and cook until the ribs are fork-tender, about another 1 ½ hours. Remove from the oven, carefully open the foil till the ribs are cool enough to handle, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove herb sprigs and discard.
- Turn the oven to broil. Liberally brush the meaty side of the ribs with half of the barbecue sauce and broil until caramelized, 2 to 3 minutes. If you don’t have a built-in broiling element in your oven, then crank the oven to 500°F (260°C) and roast the ribs until the sauce is hot and bubbling. Transfer to a platter and serve with the rest of the barbecue sauce on the side.
From Acid Trip by Michael Harlan Turkell, published by ABRAMS c 2017. Photo credit Michael Harlan Turkell